EAP in Prisons: working together to map out alternatives

Posted on by Alec Orrock

by Diana Scott
Deputy Head of Pre-sessional Programmes, Durham University

I’m writing to all who share the mission of helping students respond effectively to their academic demands. You know who you are!

I want to flag up a category of HE student you may not have reached yet.  There are multiple initiatives to bring higher education into prisons (see https://www.prisonerseducation.org.uk/pupil). A popular model involves delivering a UG/PG module inside prison to a ‘mixed’ class of prisoners and run-of-the-mill university students.

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A Path to Cognitive Breathing Space

Posted on by Alec Orrock

by Steve Peters

The Away Day at CELFS this year, at its heart, was an exploration of how each of us can enhance well-being for ourselves, our colleagues and our students. This included a look at creating opportunities for Cognitive Breathing Space (CBS). The fact that this phrase could represent a variety of practices and meanings for individuals is apparent in the conversation maps and recordings created and collected during the event. On the Ashton Court Estate it took the form of a walk and talk activity with subsequent reflective conversation mapping. Thanks to Donna MacLean who suggested the focus for the away day and introduced the away day planning team to the concept of CBS for the day. (more…)

Internationalisation and Multilingualism within a UK University context: An interview with Maxine Gillway, Director of CELFS

Posted on by Alec Orrock

by Nick Roll

As part of my own research investigating student and teacher attitudes towards the use of L1 in multilingual EAP classes, I recently interviewed Maxine Gillway, the current Director of The Centre for English Language and Foundation Studies (CELFS) at the University of Bristol. (more…)

Loving the Lacuna: Notes on PS10 Review Week

Posted on by Alec Orrock

by Stuart Marshall

There’s a suddenness to the arrival of review week on the PS10: one minute you’re shifting uncomfortably in your seat during induction week and the next you’re puzzling over the blank space where a scheme of work would normally be. There is of course a Week 5 folder on the W Drive full of shared materials, which teachers are free to add to and draw from as they please. While this bank varies in appropriacy (e.g. in terms of student level), it certainly has something to offer anyone with a lesson or two to fill, though not the full week.

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Mirror, signal, manoeuvre: the Digital Driving License and why it starts with reflection

Posted on by Alec Orrock

by Wendy Denton

This blog post focuses on the following three areas:

  • What are digital capabilities and why do we need them?
  • How are digital capabilities being developed at other universities?
  • What is CELFS doing to help develop digital capabilities?

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Introducing … the Professional Services Team!

Posted on by Alec Orrock

This post is based on the information that the then Centre Administration Manager Sarah Armstrong put together for the IFP tutor induction at the start of the 2017/18 academic year.

Do tutors realise the sheer breadth of tasks being handled by the Professional Services Team? Take a moment right now to estimate what the CELFS Admin Team do. (more…)

Non native English speaking tutors: Difference as an advantage, not a burden

Posted on by Alec Orrock

by Julia Gardos Carroll

In our presentation at the BALEAP PIM on Intercultural Communication in Nottingham, Kazuo Yamamoto and I argued that non-native English speaking tutors (NNESTs) can use their own background and experiences to help international students. (more…)